In the 1930s, the effort to unionize Cannon Mills in Kannapolis generated so much hatred,
National Guardsmen manned the plant’s roof with machine guns at the ready. Though lacking such firepower, a series of
failed unionization efforts in the 1990s generated plenty of heat, along with court orders
for plant managers to stop intimidating union supporters.
Now — just a few days before
workers take to the polls — union officials say the latest campaign to unionize six
area Fieldcrest Cannon plants has turned out to be a much kinder, gentler ordeal.
Michael Zucker, spokesman for the
Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE), credits Fieldcrest’s
newest corporate owners with fostering “a good working relationship” with UNITE.
“This election will be
different,” Zucker said. “This company is going to really try to keep from
breaking the law.
“It’s proving itself in
its conduct through the whole process of this election. And it’s a real contrast to
some of the former owners of these plants and how they conducted themselves.”
More than 5,000 Fieldcrest Cannon
mill workers in six plants in Rowan and Cabarrus counties will vote on unionization June
22 and 23.
The vote affects Plants 1 and 4 in
Kannapolis, Plants 7 and 16 (the Swink plant) in Salisbury, Plant 6 in Concord and Plant
11 in Rockwell.
Pillowtex, the Dallas-based owner
of Fieldcrest Cannon, already employs roughly 4,000 workers in 11 other plants covered by
union contracts, according to UNITE.
The union has been trying to
organize labor at Fieldcrest Cannon for 25 years. UNITE lost elections in 1974, 1984, 1991
and 1997.
Pillowtex CEO Chuck Hansen Jr.
agreed this week that his company maintains a good relationship with unions. But Hansen is
quick to dismiss the need for organized labor in the local Fieldcrest Cannon plants.
Hansen noted that UNITE failed to
protect the jobs at Cone Mills in Salisbury.
Cone closed its Salisbury plant in
April, putting 625 employees – most UNITE members – out of work. The company
cited reduced demand for denim and cheap imported fabrics.
According to Zucker, UNITE could
do just what Hansen says it can’t: guarantee – in writing – better wages
and benefits, including improved pensions.
The National Labor Relations Board
set the newest election date more than a week ago after consulting Pillowtex and UNITE
officials.
Federal labor regulators will poll
plant workers outside Fieldcrest Cannon plants. Off-site polling is one of many rules
governing the election under a 1995 order from the National Labor Relations Board.
This month’s unionization
campaign of just two weeks — past campaigns drug on for months — is due in part
to a July 1 deadline for such court-ordered special remedies.
The 1997 election, held shortly
before Pillowtex bought the textile company, served as a court-ordered rematch. Union
officials complained to the Labor Relations Board that plant supervisors intimidated
workers through surveillance and other means during the 1991 campaign.
The union also complained to the
Labor Board about management’s handling of the 1997 election.
In April, UNITE and Pillowtex
settled a number of unfair labor practice complaints stemming from the 1997 election.
Neither Hansen nor Zucker will
comment on the terms of the settlement.
Zucker said Friday UNITE has not
received any complaints from Fieldcrest Cannon employees about intimidation by supervisors
this time around.
Other than an apparent absence of
labor law violations, this month’s short campaign resembles earlier unionization
efforts, Zucker said.
“We’re talking to people
and answering any questions they may have,” Zucker said. “Right now we’re
in the middle of having meetings inside the plant, half-hour meetings that are going
really well.”
UNITE organizers are meeting with
employees on break in various conference rooms inside the plants, Zucker said.
“There’s been a lot of
information passed out under the NLRB ruling,” he added. “Union supporters have
the right to post leaflets and other messages on bulletin boards reserved for that
purpose. So there’s been a number of pieces of information like that posted
throughout the plants.”
If workers reject the union, plant
operations should continue unchanged.
If workers approve UNITE, union
negotiators will begin meeting with employees to determine their priorities for
bargaining, Zucker said. Workers would not be forced to pay union dues — about $5 per
week — or become members, Zucker said. |
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